RFK Jr. touts IHS funding at tribal conference while spreading false claims about diabetes

[littlemissmartypants]

Source: Arizona Mirror

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told a crowd of Native American leaders on Wednesday that cutting out “ultra-processed” foods would reverse high rates of diabetes within their communities.

Joined on stage by his new upside-down food pyramid at Gila River Indian Community’s Wild Horse Pass Casino, Kennedy mentioned the high incidences of Type 2 diabetes within Arizona’s Indigenous communities.

“Type 2 diabetes is curable,” he said. “You can reverse the diagnosis by changing the food source.”

But that isn’t true. Studies have shown that increased consumption of ultra-processed foods is correlated with increased risk of Type 2 diabetes, and while cutting consumption of those foods can help with management of symptoms, it will not “cure” the disease.

Read more: https://azmirror.com/2026/04/08/rfk-jr-touts-ihs-funding-at-tribal-conference-while-spreading-false-claims-about-diabetes/

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Caitlin Sievers
April 8, 2026
7:17 pm

[LudwigPastorius]

1. Isn't it time for your Ivermectin & whale juice enema, Bob?

[Bayard]

2. Ultra processed foods are not good for anybody

Indigenous people are like everyone else in this country--its expensive to eat healthy. Many just can't afford it, plus it goes away from the diets they were raised on.

I do have a friend who recently went from a Type 2 diagnoses to nothing by going on a healthy diet, and losing a bunch of weight. Lots of salads. No one should listen to Jr. about anything though. His brain is Silly Putty.

[oasis]

3. The old timers would accuse RFK of speaking with a

forked tongue.

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

4. Running around spreading woo-science

[Baitball Blogger]

5. He should be sued for all the misinformation he spreads.

[Sweet Rosie Red]

6. This 70 year old diabetic just got an A1C test result of 6.5!

My A1C would be considered pre diabetic in a younger person. I was diagnosed 23 years ago and put on insulin. Slowly lost weight and now controlled by oral meds, exercise and diet. But I am not cured. I never will be cured. My pancreas is genetically programmed to malfunction as I age, and all the prevention in the world would only delay onset by a few years. My father developed diabetes much younger than I did. He was a red meat junkie! I have been a vegetarian whole foods cook since I turned 18 and developed diabetes anyway! Taking great care of myself does not prevent or cure diabetes, but the effort is worth it to improve the quality of my life as I age. Remember, the whole point of coping with a chronic illness is to die of something else! A shout truth from the rooftops to drown out the Worm brain and his followers!

[summer_in_TX]

7. Actually, there may be some truth to this claim of RFK Jr's.

The Pima Indians of Arizona have a very high incidence of diabetes, as well as many other bad health outcomes due to the tribe's documented adoption of a Western diet. A group decided to revert to their traditional eating practices. Their blood sugar levels returned to normal.

In addition a comparative study of a Pima Indian group in Mexico that did not adopt a Western diet showed that there was a far lower incidence of diabetes in the group in Mexico.

[littlemissmartypants]

9. Still diabetics. Definitely not a cure. Misleading information in medicine can be deadly.

But thanks for your reply, summer_in_TX. ❤️

[Aussie105]

8. Societies with a diet low in processed foods, low in sugar and meat, tend to have lower rates of Type 2.

Japan for instance, and most Asian countries.
Vegetable rich diet in short.
Spices to make them interesting to the palate.

Americans who grow up with a diet of high fructose corn syrup in everything and processed foods don't stand much of a chance of getting old with a lifelong healthy body weight and few health problems.

Not a secret, surely?
Not a cure though.

Type 2 HbA1c numbers can be controlled by changing your diet, but it needs to be a permanent change.
Probably wiser to get that 'diet change' in early in your kids' lives.